The Orlando Magic once again showed how much they do for the community by feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving morning.
Orlando Magic Community Ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw, Orlando Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins, STUFF the Magic Mascot, Magic Dancers, 102JAMZ, Orlando Magic and Coalition for the Homeless staff members and Coalition residents/families fed the homeless this morning at the Coalition for the homeless of Central Florida.
I’d like to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers and their families. Enjoy the food, family, football and of course, Magic basketball today.
The Orlando Magic lost a heartbreaker to the Miami Heat last night. You can see my recap and analysis here.
Hoopsworld’s Alex Kennedy was also in attendance Wednesday night. Read his courtside blog here.
Brian Schmitz says the Magic handed the Heat a victory last night.
"Magic small forward Matt Barnes had the responsibility of blocking out Beasley. Barnes showed his frustration at the end of the game, tossing the basketball into the stands. That action normally warrants a fine by the NBA.“You don’t expect an air-ball from D-Wade,” Magic center Dwight Howard said. “Matt had good position…he just out-jumped him. We thought it was (offensive) goal-tending (by Beasley). We can’t do anything about it now.”"
Read the full story here.
Joshua Robbins discusses how Jason Williams went from hero to goat because of two missed free throws.
"The bitter ending for Williams came after he scored a game-high 25 points and finished with a game-high eight assists.“I feel bad for him, because he played that well,” Orlando shooting guard Vince Carter said. “He kept us in the game and kept us close throughout the game. I wanted him to make those, because he deserves to be the man of the hour because he was phenomenal tonight.”Williams, who left the Magic locker room shortly after Coach Stan Van Gundy finished his postgame comments, committed just one turnover in his 39-plus minutes"
Click here to read the full story.
The Miami Sun-Sentinel offers perspective from the other side here.
The Orlando Magic will try to bounce back against the league-leading Atlanta Hawks. I preview the game here.
Mike Bibby’s status for Thursday night’s game is still up in the air.
"Bibby, who sprained his left ankle in Saturday’s loss to New Orleans, missed practice for a third consecutive day Wednesday. The decision will be made at the Thursday morning shootaround at Philips Arena, coach Mike Woodson said.“We’ll find out everything [Thursday], see how it feels, get out there, move a little bit,” Bibby said.If Bibby can’t play, he would be the first Hawk to miss a game this season because of injury, not a small factor in the Hawks’ 11-3 start. Woodson said he would decide Thursday whether he would start Jamal Crawford or rookie Jeff Teague in Bibby’s spot if he can’t play. Teague has practiced with the starting unit this week."
Read the full story here.
Other coaches have poked fun at Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy’s new kind attitude.
"The news that Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy will attempt to be less negative has given his coaching brethren an opportunity to needle him.Van Gundy said that Heat coach Eric Spoelstra recently sent him a text message that read, “Now you’re the calm, positive guy?” Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo has provided some barbs, too.“Oh, Erik’s got plenty of fire,” Van Gundy said. “He just has better control of his emotions. I think that’s a positive. I don’t think fire’s a problem with almost anybody in this league coaching. I think some people manage it a lot better than others, and I’m one who’s had trouble at times doing that at a lot of times.”"
Read that and other Magic notes here.
Tim Povtak discusses the idea of Dwayne Wade playing for the Magic.
"“If I could pick one player in the league today to play with — and most people think I’d say LeBron James — I would pick Dwight (Howard),” Wade told FanHouse Wednesday after practice at Amway Arena. “I’d love for that to happen at some point. Dwight is already close right here in Orlando. People who say it couldn’t happen (us playing on the same team), they don’t know. I’ve learned in this league that anything is possible.”Wade and his Heat teammates are in Orlando to play the Magic Wednesday night. He and Howard spent considerable time together last summer at the Olympic Games, then this summer filming both a T-Mobile commercial and a movie that will be released soon.Wade already played in Miami with former Magic center Shaquille O’Neal, and they won the 2006 NBA title together. Howard has replaced O’Neal — now in Cleveland — as the league’s best big man. Although Wade won the league’s scoring title last season, the Heat have struggled since O’Neal’s departure in 2008.“I’ve played with a dominant center before, and there’s nothing like it. It changes the whole game. It’s why I’d love to play with Dwight. He’s a phenomenal center who has only just scratched the surface of where he’ll be,” Wade said. “And he’s the type of guy you’d really like to be around.”"
Read that here.
For you college football fans, check out my blog on rivalry week complete with videos here.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)